January 3, 2024

Sworkz confirm team for MIBO International debut

Sworkz has confirmed it will be sending its team to this year’s MIBO International Race in Czech Republic.  The second running of the event that sees some of the World’s top offroad and onroad drivers race side by side on two large indoor carpet tracks, this will be Sworkz first time attending the 2 and a half day event.  Taking place on February 16-18, with practice starting on the Friday evening, multiple European Champion Joern Neumann, Micha Widmaier and Antonia Kovalszki represent the brand on their debut.  A long time dream of former International Touring Car racer Michal Bok to host his own major international event in Hrotovice, the first edition of MIBO International last year saw multiple World Champion Bruno Coelho take double buggy honours at the Sport V Hotel venue while former World Champion Ronald Volker was crowned the Touring Car Champion.  After the success of inaugural event, the 2nd edition looks set to attract an even stronger international team entry and Red RC will be there to bring you coverage from both tracks.

Source: MIBO [mibosport.com]


November 3, 2023

Reunited after 15 years – Hara, Miura & the D8

15-years ago one of the icons of our sport claimed a race win that to this day he describes as the ‘highlight’ of his illustrious racing career.  That driver was Atsushi Hara and the race in question was the 2008 IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.  As anyone who races nitro well knows, it is very much a team sport.  Today here in Japan, on the penultimate day of the 1:8 Onroad Worlds, that World title conquering combo of Hara, legendary race mechanic Masayuki Miura and the winning Hot Bodies D8 buggy were reunited for the first time in a decade and a half.  As Red RC was in its infancy and didn’t cover its first 1:8 Offroad World Championship until 2-years later in Thailand, it was an opportunity to recreate the winning team photo of 2008 with our good friends Hara and Miura and do a ‘Retro Chassis Focus’ on the historic buggy.

The story of today’s reunion actually started back in September after Hara’s winning buggy, still complete with its red coloured Charlotte dirt, was discovered for sale on eBay by former US racer Tyler Vik.  Following its win of the biggest prize in the sport in 2008, the buggy went on display at the Hot Bodies Headquarters but when the company ceased trading it disappeared.  As we already reported, thanks to the generosity of the RC community who supported a crowd funding campaign to buy the car back, it was then sent across the Globe in bit of a Olympic Flame relay style journey that involved many big name racers helping to get it be delivered back personally to Hara – something the Japanese driver is truly grateful for.  Today was the final piece of the reunion as Miura, who due to heading up the organisation of the Onroad World Championship here at Infinity International RC Speedway, only got to see the car for the first time today since its win in the USA.  After getting the winning team photo it was a special moment to see Hara remove the D8’s bodyshell and hand it to Miura to start a trip down memory lane for the iconic offroad and onroad duo.  Having had some time to study the car, the first thing Hara pointed out was how lucky he was to win that day having discovered the front CVD pin was working its way loose.  Something he said, ‘5-minutes more and it would have been done’.

With the car attracting plenty of attention, one of the questions asked was what was the foil tape over the servo horns for to which Hara explained Muira’s idea behind it, ‘if the screw came loose the tape would stop it from falling out then it wouldn’t come off’.  With everything original on the car as it came off the track that day, Hara said the only thing to change was the stickers on the bodyshell which have faded.  Hara said even after all these years the car’s O.S engine and its bearings still feel perfect.  Turning the engine’s flywheel by hand, onroad engine tuner Bertram Kessler acknowledged with a nod of his head that the engine did feel good 15-years on.

Unable to divulge the information back when they won, Hara shared an interesting story about the engine in the buggy.  He said, ‘I was a factory O.S driver and they gave me plenty of engines but at the time French engine brand JP Racing had a special edition of the engine and Miura wanted to try it.  So in the US we went to a hobby shop and bought one and that was what we used in the final.  The only difference on the outside was the JP had a marking on the (cooling) head so we just switched that.’

Hara also explained how the race helped form his ‘very strong relationship’ with radio manufacturer Futaba.  He explained, ‘Radios with built in 2.4Ghz were only new and the 4PX was the first radio from Futaba.  Many Futaba sponsored drivers didn’t want to use the new radio at the Worlds because they were afraid it might give trouble.  I was the only one to use it in the final, Futaba was super happy’.

The tyres on the buggy are the same set that he finished the 1-hour final on, he was able to verify this as they were an unmarked ‘prototype tyre’ from Pro-Line that would become the Revolver.  He said, ‘after running bowfighter, Bowtie on the front and Crimefighter on the rear, he said because there was very little data on the new tyre all the other drivers stuck with that.  When I switched to the new tyre I was 2-seconds a lap quicker in the final.  It was an all Pro-Line podium but I was the only one with this tyre’.

Genuinely grateful to everyone who helped get the buggy back to him, explaining the reason it was hand delivered was that the guys involved in getting it back explained if the shipping company lost it then it would be gone for good, he said the win in the US was very special.  ‘I was 28 at the time and it was the peak of my career.  Everyone expected an American driver to win.  Europe didn’t really have good drivers then and nobody thought I could win’.  Asked about his plans for the buggy, he said, ‘after here it will go to my house to stay and I will get a glass cover for it’.

Click here to check out our Retro Chassis Focus of Hara’s D8 Buggy.


November 3, 2023

Retro Chassis Focus – Atsushi Hara (Hot Bodies)

Chassis: Hot Bodies D8
Engine: O.S Speed VZB V Spec
Exhaust: O.S T2060SC
Radio: Futaba PK4
Servos (Steering/Throttle): Futaba BLS 353 / S9351
Body: Hot Bodies
Tyres : Pro-Line Prototype (would later go into production as the Revolver)

Image Gallery


September 23, 2023

’23 Offroad World C/ship Chassis Focus Index

With the dust now settled on what was a fantastic & exciting 1:10 Offroad World Championships at Hobby Action RC Raceway, we have put together a full index of all the buggies we were able to photograph for our ‘Chassis Focus’ during our time in Arizona.  While we request chassis focus with all the manufacturers, some are forced to decline to protect prototype parts or developments they were trying at the Worlds.  We are always happy to respect this as in this modern era it has become easy for parts to reverse engineered from online images and made available before the chassis manufacturer, who has invested the time & funding into the buggy,  has fully tested and signed off the final design of parts.  Sworkz was one manufacturer who was unable to provide their buggies because of a new suspension parts they had for the event.


2WD Chassis Focus

Tater Sontag (2023 2WD World Champion) – TLR 22 5.0 DC Elite

Shin Adachi – Mugen Seiki (Not yet named Pre-production 2WD)

Spencer Rivkin (2015/2019 World Champion) – Team Associated B6.4

Bruno Coelho – Xray XB2’23

Michal Orlowski – Schumacher Cougar LD3 Prototype

Fuma Saito – Kyosho Ultima RB7.5

Yui Kaino (2WD Japanese National Champion) – Yokomo SO 2.0

Dustin Evans – Team Associated B6.4

Kouki Kato (4WD Japanese National Champion) – Team Associated B6.4D


4WD Chassis Focus

Davide Ongaro (4WD World Champion) – Team Associated B74

Michal Orlowski (4WD European Champion) – Schumacher CAT L1R

Bruno Coelho (2015/2019 World Champion) – Xray XB4’24

Dakotah Phend (ROAR 2WD National Champion) – TLR 22X/4

Burak Kilic – Yokomo MO2.0

 


September 17, 2023

Chassis Focus – Tater Sontag (TLR)

Chassis – TLR 22 5.0 DC Elite
Motor – Hobbywing G3 7.0T
ESC – Fantom Pro 2.0
Battery – Protek 4800mAh
Tires (handout) – Handout / Proline Bald Eagles MC
Radio/Servos – Sanwa M12 / Fantom FR720
Body – Pro-Line Axis Lightweight

Remarks
Tater normally runs motors and batteries from his sponsor Fantom but while ROAR approved they were not IFMAR approved so he ran a Hobbywing motor and batteries from Protek for the event.